The invention relates to methods for producing carboxylic acids having 1-3 carbon atoms, specifically acetic acid from 2,3-butanediol and/or acetoin.
Acetic acid can be produced on an industrial scale by oxidation of acetaldehyde, oxidation of ethylene, oxidation of ethane and oxidation of other hydrocarbons and also carbonylation of methanol (Ullmans Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2000, Vol. 1, “Acetic Acid”, pp. 151-164).
Acetic acid can also be obtained on the basis of renewable raw materials by oxidative fermentation of ethanol obtained from vegetable raw materials (Ullmans Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2000, Vol. 1, “Acetic Acid”, pp. 164-165). But this method is economically uncompetitive with the above-mentioned methods, which are based on fossil raw materials.
The invention has for its object to provide an inexpensive method for producing carboxylic acids having 1-3 carbon atoms, specifically acetic acid, which is also able to use renewable raw materials as starting basis.